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Pan-Seared Tuna with Ginger-Scallion Snow Peas

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Makes 4 servings 1x

Time 30 minutes

In How to Cook Everything Fast, recipe directions are separated into “prep” and “cook.” Here, we’ve made that distinction with italics for prep-work and plain text for cooking. This reflects the most efficient order and timing of tasks.

Units Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 pound tuna steaks (1 to 1 1/2 inches thick)
  • 3 tablespoons good-quality vegetable oil
  • Salt
  • 2 inches fresh ginger
  • 4 scallions
  • 1 pound snow peas
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce, plus more to taste
  • Sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. Put a large skillet over high heat.
  2. Put the tuna on a plate and rub it all over with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Sprinkle with salt.
  3. When the skillet is smoking hot, add the tuna and cook, turning once, until it’s browned on both sides but still quite rare in the center, 2 to 4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness. (Nick with a small knife and peek inside to check for doneness.) Transfer the tuna to a cutting board.
  4. Peel and chop 2 inches ginger.
     Trim 4 scallions and slice, keeping the white and green parts separate.
  5. Put the skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, followed by the ginger and the white parts of the scallions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the scallions are soft, about 3 minutes.
  6. Trim the stem end of the snow peas, pulling on the tough string running down the flat side to remove it. Cut the snow peas in half on the diagonal.
  7. Add 3 tablespoons soy sauce to the skillet along with 1/4 cup water. When it starts to bubble, add the snow peas. Cook, stirring frequently, until the snow peas are tender and glossy and the liquid has mostly evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat; taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more soy sauce if desired.
  8. Slice the tuna thinly against the grain.
  9. Serve the snow peas with the tuna slices on top. Pour the remaining pan juices into a small bowl, add more soy sauce and a little water, and stir in the sesame seeds if you’re using them. Garnish with the scallion greens and serve with the sauce on the side.

— Recipe from How to Cook Everything Fast

Recipe variations

Pan-Seared Tuna with Tomatoes Omit the water. Use about 1 1/2 pounds cored, chopped ripe tomatoes or whole ripe cherry tomatoes instead of the snow peas. In Step 4 add the tomatoes with the soy sauce, stirring frequently until they release their liquid and the sauce reduces a bit; this will take another 3 to 5 minutes. Garnish with chopped fresh Thai basil (if you have it) instead of the sesame seeds.

Pan-Seared Tuna with Spinach Omit the water. Substitute 1 pound spinach for the snow peas. Trim off any thick stems and rinse well. Add it in batches while stirring to make room in the pan.

Pan-Seared Tuna with Watercress Substitute 1 or 2 bunches watercress for the snow peas. Trim any tough ends; if the stems are long, chop the bunches in half. Add in Step 4 and cook as described in the main recipe.